File photoBluffton residents and guests watch as the boats gather during the Blessing of the Fleet at last year's Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival.

In celebration of fine art and great food, the ninth annual Historic Bluffton Arts & Seafood Festival returns Sunday with more events and family fun.

The festival grew from a one-day event in 2005 to a full week busy with parades, races, art exhibits, cooking challenges and more for residents and visitors in Old Town Bluffton.

The outdoor Friends of Bluffton Artists’ invitational art showcase will be open along Calhoun and Boundary streets from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, displaying more than 60 Lowcountry artists.

Old Town Bluffton resident and University of South Carolina Beaufort art instructor Amiri Farris created the poster for the festival, depicting a creature every local person is acquainted with — a crab.

“I wanted to create a poster that was fun and visually interesting that captured the atmosphere of the festival,” Farris said. “The crab, oysters and shrimp encompass the theme of the festival and I tried to illustrate that in my own art style.”

Residents will see more of Farris during the festival as he releases his new series “Bluffton dreams.” It is a series of paintings and prints that layers the elements found in Old Town.

Seafood and marine life also are celebrated during the festival. Waddell Mariculture Center director Al Stokes will be the admiral of the fleet, leading the boat parade and blessing of the fleet on the May River during the opening ceremonies Sunday.

“It’s a real honor to be selected and know that the community appreciates the work we do at the center and our involvement to try to do the right thing by protecting our valuable estuary,” Stokes said.

Stokes will host a “dinner and learn tour” at the Waddell Center at 5:30 p.m. Monday. He will give a tour of the center, followed by a crab-picking and oyster-shucking demonstration by the Bluffton Oyster Company. Attendees will get to eat the food after the demonstration.

The opening ceremonies will start at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Church of the Cross, followed by an oyster roast at Bluffton Oyster Factory Park from 5-8 p.m.

The festival offers an array of activities, showcasing the locally-harvested seafood, Lowcountry cuisine, rich history, culture and art of the area.

Organizers are adding a paddle parade for people with kayaks and paddleboards, as well as a race for paddlesports.

Streetfest will bring the week-long celebrations to an end on Oct. 19-20. It will include a fine arts show featuring more than 100 artists from 10 states, food provided by local restaurants and caterers, and live music throughout historic Bluffton.

“When the festival was founded, the whole purpose was to give back to community and share with all our visitors what we call the gems of Bluffton — the May River, rich culture and the history,” festival president Mary O’Neil said. “We highlight that and obviously what comes out of the May River, the seafood. We want people for generations to come to know what Bluffton is all about.”

For more information about costs for events, go to blufftonartsandseafoodfestival.com. There will be no parking available in downtown Bluffton. There will be free shuttles from Red Cedar Elementary School on Oct. 19 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Oct. 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information on parking, call 757-2583.